10 Things Agtech Needs to Admit [Opinion]
May 22, 2019 As I sit here pondering what is the next big thing needed for digital ag/precision ag/agtech/digital farming…..blah blah blah, it came to me to write down a list of things that we actually need changed or just need to admit need a solution or not. Not things that are on the horizon or some new product that is being designed or talked about. Just things that I’ve seen that we overemphasize or just haven’t figured out or done in general. This is also in no particular order and may make absolutely no sense to some. I’ll add some of my own reasoning with some of these as well. Bear with me here.
1) Why oh why can’t we get past this whole illusion that Big Data is going to save us all?
Sure, it’s catchy and creates wild dreams, but it also creates a lot of wild accusations that simply aren’t true or that are going to happen any time soon. Let’s just hold off on this whole thing for a while, please, or approach it a little better.
2) Stop trying to make algorithms that try to replace people or processes.
This is by far one of the most ridiculous practices being attempted right now. I get it, automating some processes is going to be important to make certain things more scalable and easier. That is very true, but certain groups are trying to replace agronomists or other trusted advisors. Other lab related processes are also being threatened. All in all, some just have to slow their role here and be careful or else you screw up more than just the agronomics.
3) Can we please just stop making ridiculously expensive in-cab controllers?
iPads or tablets are cheap and replaceable. They basically work fine in the field based on plenty of experience. Also, you know there is like 1,000% markup on those big main controllers today. It is keeping many from adoption or to invest in other parts of their precision ag program.
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